Aftermath
by blushingyellow
Summary: After the final battle of Hogwarts, the wizarding world erupted into celebration. They were finally free from the threat under the most powerful dark wizard. Voldemort was dead and gone. What wasn't there to be happy about. Those who the war touched, the orphans and scarred were changed forever. They became different people in order to cope with the souls of war that was left.
1. Chapter 1

Life didn't just resume after the war, at least not for those who fought. Celebrations broke out over the island, loud parties could be heard just about anywhere you went. Hiding from niggles became a whips of a memory and those loyal to the ministry had their hand full trying to keep everyone hidden. Luna wanted nothing to do with the celebrations, she went home after the final battle feeling spent and broken. Looking into her fathers eyes was difficult. He was her only family but it was hard to forgive what he had done to her friends. The ruins of her childhood home was a constant reminder of it. Understanding him was easy, but forgiving was difficult. Luckily there was enough work to keep Luna preoccupied. She helped put the house back together, reassembled the pieces of their lives, tended to her mothers garden, painted her new room. Anything to keep herself busy.

The days were getting shorter, the weather cooler and despite not keeping track Luna knew summer was coming to an end. There was a chill to the air blowing in through he window, Luna use to enjoy this time of year. School would be starting soon but there was no way it would be the same. Hogwarts had been destroyed and rebuilt. And half of her classmates wouldn't be back.

She didn't want to think about that, didn't want to think about the families. Fred funeral had been hard enough and there were so many more families like the Weasley's. She picked up a paintbrush putting the finishing touches on the sunset above her bed.

Her bedroom door slammed open. The paintbrush dropped from her fingers and her heart raced. It wasn't a surprise, she had heard her father coming up the stairs. He had never been light on his feet, she heard him shuffling just outside her door, that knowledge did nothing to calm her down. Her chest tightened and she couldn't suck in a breath of clean air. Before she realised it she had her wand out from behind her ear and held tight in her hand.

"Luna, Luna it's me," he fathers said holding his hands out in front of him. He glanced around the room, desperation in his eyes. A forever passed in the beat that they stood there, at an impasse while Luna's fight response dwindled down. Her breathing coming easier and the stance in which she held her wand pointed into her fathers chest slacked. She let her arm drop to her side, her wand hanging loosely from her finger tips. Luna racked her other hand down her face as she took one more ragged breath.

Her father did lower his hands, he didn't take a step closer. He stood there, 3 feet away from her, his deep blue eyes laced with worry and shame. Shame that he couldn't protect her from what had happened, it was because of that forgiving him was easy.

"My Darling Moon," he said softly his voice quivering as he lowered his hands slowly. "Is everything okay?" Luna had worked so hard to keep all of this from him. Her little episodes of blind fear were vast but so far she had managed it all by herself. She disliked that anyone would see her like this. Now people had a reason to call her Looney. She nodded her head softly and forced a small smile on her lips. Reassure him, don't alarm him was there only thought running through her head. In a few moments he would come up with some reason this had happened as he had when she first came home. She didn't have the heart to tell him Nargles were not to blame for any of this.

"Must be the Nargles again. I think we've got an infestation. Should we go on a hunt for them tomorrow?" He asked, but Luna could see he himself didn't really believe his own words. Anything to keep from talking about what was real. "Your friends are here. Ginevra and that awkward lanky boy." He said with a wave of his hand.

"Neville, dad, his name is Neville." She said with a shake of her head. No matter how many times that man met Neville he'd never remembered his name. It was a constant struggle but Neville never seemed to mind her fathers quirky nature.

"Ah yes little Nettle, though he's not so little anymore." He said pronouncing Neville's name wrong again. At least it was closer then his normal tries. Luna didn't bother trying to correct him, her father was just never going to get it. Neville was no Harry Potter...

She moved around her father and ran down the stairs. Her blonde hair cascading behind her from the speed in which she moved. All summer she had spent fixing this place and avoiding the two people in the world who knew her best. Euphoria spread through her as she burst through the front door and spilled outside. Her friend waiting in the front yard, Luna's trek slowed as she noticed the two of them engaged in a heated conversation. From where she stood in the yard she could only see Ginny's face as Neville's back was turned to her. The Gingers expressions were full of rolling clouds and storms. Her eyes knitted as she mouthed something else to the boy in front of her, but then she spotted Luna and everything changed. She smiled brightly and pushed Neville around to face the house. His eyes were clouded, he never could change in an instant like Ginny could.

"Good to see you Luna!" Neville shouted to be heard with the dove between them. The petite girl flinched slightly as the loud noise, and she wondered if that reaction would ever go away completely. She walked towards her friends, the look in Neville's eyes told her that he had seen her reaction. As she got closer she heard the tail end of his and Ginny's conversation.

"... Believe you!" Her voice was harsh but it was clear Neville was done with this conversation.

"That still happens huh?" He asked ignoring whatever Ginny had just been saying. The fiery ginger turned her unforgiving gaze towards Luna. Whatever Neville had done Luna couldn't blame him for wanting to change the subject, even if it was at her expense.

"What still happens?" Ginny asked, her heated gaze turning into something much kinder as she looked at Luna.

"Nothing," Luna said in a soft breath as the three of them walked further and further away from the house. She glanced behind them and saw the curtains shuffle and her father peer out at them. "How are you doing?" Luna asked, directing her question to Ginny as they walked. The girl smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Pretty good actually. Harry is over with Ron and Hermione all the time so we can really make up for lost time." She said her voice light and airy, like a girl in love. "Ron and Hermione are together now so I don't really have to share Harry much, it's nice." It seemed like the girl was avoiding talking about Fred and her family. Luna understood though. Pain didn't really need to be shared. "Plus Percy is around all the time now, when he's not picking up the pieces of what is left of the ministry."

"Well, hopefully with the rebuilding of our government we have gotten rid of what was left of the rotfang conspiracy. Your brother doesn't need to get mixed up with that." Suddenly Ginny was pulling the girl in for a hug, laughter falling from her lips.

"Don't ever change Luna." She said pulling back.

"I can't say I planned on it." Luna said smiling softly. Ginny lingered and when the hug finally ended she took Luna's hands in her own. Their walk did not end there.

"So your last year," Neville had been pretty quiet up to this point in their walk. His Aura was slightly off from normal but Luna dismissed it. No ones Auras looked the same after the fall out of the war. Everyone was ringed with darkness now. "Are you guys ready for this?" He asked. Ginny scoffed slightly, almost inaudible. There was some obvious tension and Luna didn't know how to address it. So she didn't.

"I'm ready to go back and move on with life. Nothing just stops right? What about you Gin, still want to be a Quidditch star?" She asked trying to pull the girl into the conversation, maybe if things rolled smoothly the tension would dissipate.

"Merlin yes!" Ginny shouted into the empty void in front of them. Nothing but fields until her home miles away. Luna twitched slightly at the noise but was able to brush it off. Feigning a shiver to save some face. "More now then ever. I am going to grab life by it's bollocks. The Hollyhead Harpies are going to beg me to join their team." Her face was full of arrogance, and it was astonishing to see the girl so full of hope, like nothing had changed. Luna knew this was going to be Ginny's year.

"You've got this Gin, no one will stop you from reaching your dream." Neville said smiling brightly for the first time since they had arrived her. The joyous smile fell from Ginny's face. She tore her hand out of Luna's grasp and advanced on Neville. Her finger jamming into the boys chest with a force that could be heard. With each thump a look of pain spread across his face but he didn't move away. He stood his ground and Luna could do nothing but stand there. Confused.

"You don't get to talk about my dreams." Ginny spat out, her words doing nothing to ease Luna's confusion.

"Bloody hell Gin!" Luna screeched attempting to pull the girl away and out of poking distance but she wasn't budging.

"Look I know you aren't happy with what I've decided but this is happening." Neville responded. His assertiveness surprising both girls. The last year had been good for him but sometimes it was still strange to hear or see him standing up for himself. Luna's head began to spin. None of this made sense. Ginny and Neville never fought, they just didn't. It was impossible to wrap her head around what was going on.

"Will someone tell me what is going on?" Luna asked. Maybe what her father had said about the Nargles was right. Maybe there was a swarm nearby. It would explain the change in her friends. Ginny paced a couple feet away from Neville, fire erupting from her core.

"He's giving up on his dream, Luna. He's decided to go travel to America." Ginny spat out, her voice dripping with venom. Luna didn't understand, traveling to America sounded like a great idea. Get away from of all this for a little while, it wasn't like he had to worry about going back to school. Why did this have Ginny in such a tizzy?

"You aren't going to bully me out of this Ginny. I'm going and I'm leaving the day after your birthday." He held his ground, his face hard and tired. The war had broken all of them in different ways. Ginny looked poised to attack again. This couldn't continue, they were friends. Friends didn't treat each other like this. Luna took a step between them her wand already out before Ginny even reached for her own. The blond disarmed Ginny without a word. A look of betrayal crossed the pale girls face as she looked down at Luna.

"Ginevra Weasley, stop it right now!" Luna screamed, her heart beating fast. The thump beating against her rip cage like a conga drum. The world ceased moving. It stood frozen, Neville and Ginny glaring curses at each other over Luna's shoulders. Standing between them was wrong. These people were her best friends, the first people to ever treat her like a person and not just a side show attraction. They shouldn't be fighting like this. After a moment of tense anger Ginny's heaved a loud breath. Her legs crumpled underneath her and she fell to the ground. Her expressions held a child-like desperation as she looked up at the two of them. Strong stoic Ginny would never cry and even now when it seemed like she might, her eyes were dry. Luna kneeled down into the dry itchy grass and placed a hand on her friends shoulder. Luna should have known, she should have made Ginny talk more. Maybe the pain this girl held onto was the kind that needed to be shared.

"Everything has changed." Ginny said stating the obvious. "Every one is dead, Tonks, Lupin, Fred." Her voice wavered on the last name. The name of her brother. Luna wanted to kick herself. Of course this wasn't just about Neville. "And now you are going halfway across the world. What if you die!? How will we ever know?" She demanded focusing on the boy towering over the both of them. Her eyes glistened, tears were unavoidable and Luna didn't know how to comfort her friend.

Neville just shook his head, he looked like Luna felt, at a loss for words. He took a seat in the grass with them and grabbed both their hands. Neville always was one for affection.

"Come on Ginny. We survived so much. The ministry of magic," flashes of that battle came to Luna's mind. She remembered Neville pulling her out of the way of a nasty hex thrown at her by some masked death eater. "Umbridge." He said raising his eyebrow. Ginny chuckled softly by Neville wasn't done with his list. "The death of Dumbledore, everything the Carrows threw at us last year. We are strong and smart, I'm not going to die and even if I do I've got plans in motion. You two will be the first to find out." He said squeezing their hands. His speech unsettled Luna but apparently it was exactly what Ginny needed to hear. She sighed softly and wiped at her face, dispelling the tears that had started running down her cheeks.

"I'm going to miss you." Luna said softly when no one spoke.

"You are right Neville and I understand. We should have died so many times. We are still just teenagers and we took on the dark arts. We lived and that's more then some people can say." Ginny sounded sad. Luna leaned her head against her friends shoulder. This wasn't where she had thought this expedition would go.

"I just want to see the world Gin, be happy for me?" He asked. Ginny didn't answer him with her words and instead pulled him in for a hug. Ginny had been right. Everything had changed and nothing would be the same again. War had a way of making messes of everything.

They stayed there in the middle of nowhere until the sun had set. They talked and laughed while not talking about anything at all. Neville was the first to leave. Ginny's birthday was coming quickly and he had a lot of loose ends to tie up before he leaves for America. Each one of them knew that was why he was leaving even if Neville didn't mention it again. It was a touchy subject. After he left for home Ginny and Luna walked back to her house in silence. As they said their goodbyes Ginny made Luna promise to come to her birthday. The idea of all those Weasley's in one place making noise terrified Luna but she agreed. She couldn't tell Ginny no.

When Luna walked inside her house the darkness was overwhelming she was quick to get every room illuminated before it could swallow her up.

"Luna!" Her fathers voice sounded from the living room. His tone strained and confused. The girl sprinted towards the sound to find her father spread out across the couch, his eye blinking rapidly as he glanced around. Confusion in his features. It was like her was searching for her.

"I'm right here dad," she said softly walking into his line of vision. She could see the worry and fear in the aged lines on his face. Once he saw her he seemed to relax. A soft sigh escaped his lips and he manoeuvred into a more comfortable position before he went back to sleep. Snoring loudly a moment after his eyes closed.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later Luna was busying herself pulling vines from the rocks by hand. Using her wand to clear all of this would have been too easy, too quick. Doing it by hand made her muscles ache and shut off her brain. It was helpful. Every now and then water would spray up from the river flowing below making sure she did not over heat.

Luna was pleasantly surprised when Ginny appeared above her, holding a couple glasses of iced tea that had no doubt come from Luna's father. Luna stopped her work as Ginny took a seat on one of the rocks above, her legs swinging as she handed one of the glasses down to Luna. The small girl was thankful for a break. She was tired, doing this without magic was harder then she had thought it would be.

Ginny said nothing when Luna went back to work pulling the vines away from the rocks. They clung on for dear life as if Luna was ripping them away from their homes. Luckily this spot got a lot of direct sunlight so Devils Snare wasn't something she had to worry about running into.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked, her legs still swinging freely. Luna strained fighting a particularly annoying vine as she answered.

"I'm cleaning up." She grunted as her hand slipped and she almost fell backwards.

"Are you a witch or not?" Ginny teased knitting her eyebrows together in confusion. It was the way they grew up. Weasley's and Lovegood's always had magic at their finger tips. That wasn't a bad thing, it was a good childhood but now doing things like this was odd and out of place. Truth was Luna just needed the work out, she needed the strain. How would she explain that to her friend?

"Don't be jealous that you have to wait three more days before you can use your magic outside of school." Luna joked lightly and with one more tug the vine came tumbling down. There was a sense of accomplishment clearing this by hand. It was like nothing she had felt before. The magic this would have required would have been simple and she wouldn't have felt this way. Maybe she had missed something being able to use magic her whole life.

"Mum is so strict. I am basically 17 I should be able to use magic at home." Ginny complained.

"Well until then why don't you get down here and take a vine." Luna said with a shrug of her shoulder before she picked up another vine and started pulling all over again. Ginny didn't seem to need much prodding before she jumped down and started to help. There was obviously something on her mind but Luna didn't want to pry.

After a long fruitful break of silence between then, Ginny started to talk. All she needed was some manual labor to get her to loosen her tongue.

"George won't come home," she started as she pulled viciously fighting her current vine. Luna stopped what she was doing and looked over at Ginny. The girl didn't even notice. She just kept moving along. This explained why the girl was here, three days before her birthday. Her house must be going crazy but yet she was here, at Luna's. Wrestling with more then just vines. "He won't come home and mum is a mess. She keeps crying and dad doesn't know how to comfort her. How do you comfort a women who hasn't only lost one son but another one is pulling away?" She sighed and with one more rage filled tug the vine fell at her feet.

"I don't know Gin, I don't know. " Luna sighed feeling helpless. Ginny just shrugged her shoulders, defeated.

"I know, thanks though Luna. I just, I don't want to go home tonight. Think I can stay here?" She asked turning to look at Luna. Luna knew her father wouldn't mind.

Ginny sent her mum a owl, letting the women know that her daughter wouldn't be home that night. At first Ginny didn't want to, but Luna's father talked her into it. As soon as the letter was sent Ginny sat in the living room with Luna's father, listening intently about his travels. He could talk about that subject forever, Merlin knows Luna had heard every story a thousand times and she would listen to them a thousand more. She loved his stories and it seemed Ginny did too. The ginger hung on to his every word ever as her eyelids drooped. It wasn't long until exhaustion won out in the girl, Luna was feeling it herself.

Her father though, was oblivious, he continued talking even though the girl was clearly slumped over snoring softly.

"...majestic creatures, the crumple-horned Snorkack, but very evasive. Their horns ever explode to keep poachers from getting too close." He said cheerfully. Luna popped up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Dad she's asleep." She whispered softly to avoid waking the girl on the couch. It had looked like the girl could use the sleep.

Xenophillus grasped at his glasses, that had been having from a chain around his neck, and held them up to his eyes. He peered through the lens and chuckled softly as he glanced at Ginny's sleeping form.

"Ah yes, so she is." He sighed softly letting his glasses drop again down around his neck. This man was confounding but he was her only family. She loved him. It was then that she realized there was nothing to forgive. She wouldn't have given up Harry Potter for his safety but she could imagine doing all sorts of things for him. For the first time since she came home she wrapped her arms around him from behind. She hugged him tightly and it felt good. With a soft sigh she laid her head on his shoulder and fixed her blue eyes on Ginny sleeping peacefully. It made Luna happy to see, Ginny was the closest thing she had to a sister.

"Can you stay with her?" Luna asked softly as she loosened her grip slightly. "I've got something I need to do." Her father grasped Luna's arms tightly as she tried to pull away. She could understand his reluctance, she had said those same words before she had been taken by those death eaters over Christmas break. "I will be right back, I promise." Her promise seemed to soothe him and she was able to peel herself away. Her lips grazed the top of his head before she wakes towards the door. She glanced at him for a second and worry really started to sink in. If he was like this about a small Trip she had to make how would he survive her going back to school?

He didn't move from his seat in the old armchair as Luna grabbed her iridescent rainbow cloak. Would it always be like this? She wondered, her father crippled with anxiety every time she left. It was just the warriors that had battle scars from this war.

"She shouldn't wake up, but if she does make sure she isn't alone." Luna instructed fastening the buttons on her cloak. Xenophillus glanced up at her and a soft smile played at his lips. He looked proud.

"My darling Moon, you are extraordinary."

"Don't leave her alone," she instructed him again. "I will be right back." She said before she apparated. Her home disappeared as her body squeezed and stretched. She jumped into the middle of Diagon Alley, barely able to catch her breath. The pebble stones alley ways were still filled with witches and wizards, the back to school sales making the stores stay open later then usual. All the noise around her was like a drone. These people were happy and free, there was no threat anymore. Luna wished she could feel that.

Anxiety ate at her with all these people milling about her. She grasped her cloak tightly around her. Her knuckles turning a bright white from the pressure. She almost went back home, then she remembered she had a mission.

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was just a head, even among the bright displays of all the other shops it stood out. The most cheerful shop Luna had ever seen. It illuminated in a way the other shops did not. Luna wasn't alone standing on the street outside of the shop. Parents stood on the curb, chatting and laughing as their children shopped inside. Luna had never been inside before. Their products had been banned at Hogwarts and she was never much for pranks having been on the receiving end of them more often then not. They were popular though, looking through the windows Luna could see the place packed with students. She took a breath and walked inside before she could talk herself out of it.

Laughter echoed around like it was coming out of the walls. Cheers could be heard just to her left as a group of younger students watched a demonstration of one of the products. It was all too much, too much noise, too much activity. Luna couldn't breath. She darted over to a corner that seemed to be neglected and tried counting backwards to relax. When that didn't work she tried focusing on why this corner was neglected. Her gaze fell upon a rack of simple looking cloaks. For your protection, the sign read and Luna smiled. She fingered the material, it was thin not meant for actual use but it was quite brilliant. Shield cloaks.

"Welcome to Weasley's Wizard wheezes, how can we help with your joking needs?" The voice came from nowhere. Among the other noise in the shop she hadn't heard the girl approach and then suddenly she was there. Luna fell into the rack of cloaks, taking the rack down with her to the ground. "I'm so sorry didn't mean to startle you." The girl said helping Luna untangle herself from the mess of fabric she found herself tangled in. A deep red flush spread to Luna's cheeks as she started up at the girl with the almond colored skin. She had such a positive energy about her, it was catching.

"It doesn't take much to startle me, it's alright." The girl grasped Luna's arm and tugged her back to her feet. A soft laugh escaped her and Luna tilted her head. She hadn't said anything funny.

"Well can I help you with anything, were you looking for a cloak?" The girl asked her eyebrows peaking in interest. Luna shook her head, thanks to Harry she could do a simple shield charm, she had no need for one of these cloaks.

"I'm actually looking for George Weasley." Luna spoke, flattening her hand over her flyaway hairs. The girls happy smiled faded in the blink of an eye.

"Then I am sorry to say you've wasted your time. Mr. Weasley sees _no one_." She spat out. Luna shrank back, not because of the girls tone but because she had come here for one reason and it was about to be for naught.

"Angie." A voice came from above, Luna had hardly heard it above the rest of the noise in the shop. Up on the stairs she hadn't even noticed stood George. His face unshaven, he nodded his head down at them and the girl, Angie smiled again.

"He's up in his office." She said moving aside, Luna glanced up again only to see the blur of him disappearing through the opening of a room that was at the top of the stairs. It amazed her how he had come to her rescue, then again it wasn't the first time. He had been kind to her during the meetings of Dumbledore's Army, the first time around. One of her classmates had stolen her shoes again and she had been forced to go to the meetings without them. Fred and George had been the first there, before her and Fred had laughed. He didn't question it he just laughed. George however had taken off his shoes and taken everyone else's. It was the only interaction sh ever had with the twins. They were a few years older and in a different house but she didn't forget that.

The wiry stairs were unsteady as she climbed them, they swayed and creaked under her every step. She couldn't race up them fast enough. When she was upstairs she went through the same doorway George had disappeared into.

His 'office' was a mess. Two barely used desks were pushed into the nearest corner and a make shift cot took up the majority of the space. It sat in the middle of the room, blankets and pillows scrunched up to one corner. George stood facing the wall away from her, struggling with his wand. He flicked it and flicked it but the mess he was attempting to clean up barely moved. His third attempt was the charm. The discarded clothes and broken objects cleared off of the floor. Luna had heard about emotions messing with your magic and abilities but she had never seen it before now. Her heart ached for him, losing her mother at nine had torn her in two, she couldn't imagine losing someone he had literally spent his entire life with.

"What can I help you with Looney?" He asked when he finally turned towards her. His eyes lacked the laughter she had expected. She thought about letting him get away with calling her that, it was after all what most people called her. She didn't want that name anymore, not now that she was actually looney.

" _Don't call me that_." She snapped defensively starting off on the wrong foot already. She tried to back track, her voice growing soft and airy as she spoke next. "My name is Luna, my mum named me after the moon. She uh had a thing for the moon and stars." She rambled slightly, giving him more information she had expected to.

"The stars huh?" He asked, something resembling a sly smirk crossing his lips for just the briefest of moments. Feeling slightly uncomfortable Luna strolled farther into the room, walking close to the unused desks in the corner. Her fingers dancing across their dusty surfaces as she walked by them.

"Yeah well, I'm not here to introduce myself." She muttered.

"Then why are you here?" He asked leaning forward. His elbows resting on his knees. She didn't think about softening the blow of what she said next.

"To tell you to go home." The words sounded harsher then she had intended. And the silence that followed afterwards was tense and uncomfortable. What had she been thinking. This wasn't a conversation she could have with anyone, especially someone who called her Looney.

"I am home." He spat at her. His words like a share dagger slicing into her skin. She should have thought this out better, chosen her words more carefully. She wasn't the type to fly off the handle, that was Ginny. Ginny, her best friend, the cornerstone of strength that was asleep on Luna's couch because she didn't want to go home. Suddenly Luna's resolve strengthened.

"This isn't home, it's an escape..." She started chasing a thought that hockey transformed into something else. Luna struggled to keep up with her own thought process as she chased one thought after another. "Your family is struggling with this...loss and you disappearing and refusing to go home helps no one. " he opened his mouth to speak but Luna had finally found gumption and she wasn't giving it up now. She waved her hand effectively shutting George down before he could interrupt her. "I am still talking George Weasley. Go home, this pain you are feeling it isn't just your. Stop being selfish, your family needs you."

"Get the hell out of _my shop_!" He yelled cutting in before she could say anything else. His face contorted in rage as he advanced on her. His hands gripping on her forearms. The world went black around her, suddenly she wasn't in the joke shop but in a deserted Alley, Death Eaters closing in on her. Their grubby hands grabbing at her, their touch like fire burning into her skin. Quickly they disarmed her and slipped the hood over her head. The darkness swallowed her and the breath was stolen from her chest. Everything spun.

Just as she felt her knees weakening George's office came back into view. It had felt so real, she felt it all. Even now her hand throbbed from the punch she pulled trying to get free from them. The flashback had been rough she had a hard time catching her breath. She blinked trying to force the horrific nausea aside. When she opened her eyes again she saw George laid out on the floor. She could feel her racing heart throb through the pain in her clenched fist. Painful groans echoes around the room coming from the figure at her feet.

She panicked. Fueled by embarrassment and fear she ran, her feet hardly touching the ground as she flew down the stairs and out of the shop. What had she done?


End file.
